The World\'s Most Dangerous Secret Societies: The Illuminati, Freemasons, Bilderberg Group, Knights Templar, The Jesuits, Skull And Bones And Others pdfdrive com

Origins of the Hashashin
Perhaps the blueprint for all secret societies, an understanding of the role the
Hashashin played is impossible without understanding the context in which they 
developed. By the 12th century, Islam had splintered into several distinct 
branches, two of whom are still locked in a bitter conflict to this day: The Shia 
and the Sunni. The Sunni, who represent the largest denomination of Muslims
in the world, maintain that Abu Bakr, the father-in-law of the prophet 
Muhammad, is the first and rightful caliph—the direct political and religious 
successor to the prophet—of the Muslim community. In distinction, Shi’ite
philosophy declares that the prophet’s son-in-law and cousin Ali holds rightful 
claim to the title of caliph. Within this divide, numerous subdivisions occur, 
each claiming distinct lineages and successions as varied and conflicting as their 
tenets. Within the Shi’ite branch, the three largest subdivisions are recognized
as the Imamiyyah, the Ismaili, and the Zaidi.
There is not enough space to detail the specific differences between various 
branches and divisions of faith. Suffice to say, that by 1090, much of the Middle 
East was largely under the rule of the Fatimid Caliphate, who claimed direct 
origin from Fatima, the first daughter of the Prophet. The caliphate itself was 
explicitly Shi’ite in scope, with the cast majority of rulers being adherents of
Ismailism. One of the most visible branches of Ismailism at that time was the
Nizari branch, which flourished throughout Persia and Syria in the 11th Century.
And it is directly to the Nizari branch that the Hashashin developed and
flourished, under the stern and all-watching leadership of its founder and
visionary, Hassan-i-Sabbah.
The Old Man of the Mountains
There is no accurate date or records for the birth of Hassan-i-Sabbah, and
what little we know about his upbringing and early life stems from an allegedly

---

autobiographical account quoted in the anonymously penned Ismaili chronicle
Sarguzasht-e Sayyidnā
. The account states that Hassan was born in Persia in the 
1050s to a Imamiyi family, and was raised with the tenets of that faith in the city
of Rey, where the future Grandmaster also studied alchemy, philosophy,
astronomy—and it is rumored, certain occult doctrines practiced by renegade
Muslim imams.
Rey was home to a burgeoning movement of Ismaili missionaries, and the 
young Hassan was converted to the doctrine at the age of 17, eventually 
swearing allegiance that same year to the Fatimid Caliphate in Cairo. It was in 
Cairo that Hassan studied in-depth with leading missionaries and clerics of
Ismailism, eventually earning a reputation as one of the most fervent and
devoted disciples of the Ismaili creed. Accounts vary as to his journeys from the 
age of 17 until his return to Persia in 1081. Was he imprisoned? Persecuted?
One account tells of Hassan’s meetings with a group of heterodox Muslims in 
Syria, where he was trained in the principles of magic and sorcery. One thing is 
for certain; upon his return, Hassan settled within the Elburz mountain range 
where, after establishing several Ismaili communities, he drew the ire of Nizam-
al-Mulk, grand vizier of the Seljuq empire, prompting his retreat deep into the
mountains of Alamut in 1088.
It was at Alamut in 1090 that Hassan formulated his grand strategy; to
formulate a clandestine army and religious order of 
fedayin
(in Arabic, literally
‘the Men who accept Death’) devoted to the expansion of the Nizari Ismaili
creed, structured in a hierarchal and initiatory structure. Hassan served as the 
secretive and omniscient Grandmaster of the order for 35 years until his death in
1124, during which time it is said he only left his quarters twice to observe from 
his impenetrably constructed fortress (known as ‘the Eagle’s Nest’) the heavens 
from its rooftop.
Below the Grandmaster served several of his trusted chiefs and strategists
known as the Grand Propagandists, charged with disseminating the
Grandmaster’s orders; beneath these, served the Propagandists, who were
charged with recruiting men from outlying villages into both the Nizari Ismaili
creed and, should their devotion be loyal enough, the Order itself; the Rafiqs, or
companions of the Order; and finally, the Lasiqs, or adherents themselves. It is 
from the Lasiqs that the Grand Propagandists personally elected to train in order
to become the most feared and reviled assassins of their times, targeting not only

---

rival Muslim sects (including the Sunni Seljuq empire, who were all but
decimated by Hassan and his Order, who swore an oath to revenge the
Grandmaster’s persecution,) but also invading Christians and allies during the
First Crusade (it is worth noting that there is strong evidence that the Hashashin
made direct contact with the Knights Templar, of whom we will discuss in the
following chapter.)
Each convert to the Order was expected to go through a series of nine 
initiatory degrees. In the first, the pupil was thrown into a state of confusion, 
through analogy and teaching, towards the tenets of his previous religious and 
political convictions. This is the source of the maxim “Nothing is True, All is 
Permitted” often attributed to Hassan (although there is no documentation stating 
that Hassan uttered these words, its popularization is largely due to the writings 
of countercultural icon WIlliam S. Burroughs.) At this point, the pupil was so 
disoriented by the dissection of his beliefs that he had no point but to submit to 
the blind obedience of his teacher.
In the second, he was taught that God’s approval cannot be won except 
through the allegiance to his imam, or teacher, viewed as the guardian of God’s 
word. In the third, he is instructed into the nature of his imam. In the fourth he 
is taught that Mohammed was not the last of the Prophets, and that the Qur'an is 
not God's final revelation to man—an implicit breach with the teachings of the 
Qur’an. The fifth and sixth elaborate on the allegorical nature of the outward
practices and customs of Islam. The seventh held that both humanity and 
creation were one, with all phenomena existing as a fraction of the whole, 
including both creative and destructive power. The eighth taught that all religion 
and ideology was fraudulent—including Islam; preparing the initiate for the 
ninth and final secret: that the student was now freed from belief, acting as a 
purified philosopher in the knowledge that “nothing” literally